Portrait of Patsy Davidson. IMB Photo
Patsy Davidson, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Botswana, Eswatini and Malawi, died Oct. 24, 2024. She was 90.
Patsy was born March 19, 1934, in Roscoe, Texas, to the late Edd and Mary Frances Dodds. She graduated from Roscoe High School and attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.
Patsy came to faith in Christ in the summer of 1943. While seeking missionary appointment she recalled that after placing her faith in Christ she took her New Testament to school and placed it on her desk, “hoping for an opportunity to read it, share its message, and to tell what joy and peace resided in my heart since trusting Christ with the salvation of my life.” During her teen years, a missionary spoke at her church about the number of people around the world living in spiritual darkness. She wrote, “My heart was captured as he told of his experiences as a witness in a foreign land. … I felt that God had clearly revealed his will to me – I must share Christ with those who live in a land where the gospel is not proclaimed.”
In the summer of 1950, she met Roy Davidson and was impressed by his enthusiasm and dedication to Christ. They were married in January 1952. During their next decade together, they lived and served in several different places and churches while attending school and starting their family. In 1964, Roy and Patsy began to feel that God wanted them to move to Malawi. While seeking missionary appointment, Patsy wrote, “The more we prayed individually and as a family the more convinced we became of His leadership and of His directing our lives to Malawi.”
In 1965, the International Mission Board appointed Roy and Patsy missionaries to Malawi, where they planted churches and shared their faith. They later moved to Botswana and Eswatini. During their more than 29 years in Africa, Patsy served in various roles, including writing Bible curriculum, starting the Bibleway Correspondent School in Gaborone, Botswana, and serving as the mission’s treasurer in Botswana. She also trained Malawian and Liswati teachers and opened English-speaking preschools in Blantyre, Malawi, and Mbabane, Eswatini.
Patsy was preceded in death by her husband, Roy Guy Davidson Jr., and her son, Roy Guy Davidson III.
She is survived by her son, Gill Davidson (Amy) of Front Royal, Virginia; her daughter, Gay Littleford (Stan) of Birmingham, United Kingdom; her daughter, Gwen Schmidt (Todd) of Central Asia; 16 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren, with more on the way.
A celebration of life service was held Nov. 23 in Front Royal, Virginia.